Vacuum cleaners with combined hose connectors and housing latches



C T. FROMKNECHT April 2, 1968 CLEANERS WITH COMBINED HOSE CONNECTORS AND HOUSING LATCHES VACUUM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1966 lNVENTOR. Charles I Fromknechr TORNEY Witness April 2, 1968 c FROMKNECHT, 3,375,541

VACUUM CLEANERS WITH COMBINED HOSE CONNECTORS AND HOUSING LATCHES 2 Sheets-Sheef 2 Filed June 24, 1966 I INVENTOR. Charls T. Fromknecht Witness M U BY @Mi Mm W 2mm) United States Patent 3,375 541 VACUUM CLEANERS WTI'H COMBINED HOSE CONNECTORS AND HOUSING LATCHES Charles T. Fromknech't, Anderson, S.C., assignor to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 24, 1966, Ser. No. 560,149 6 Claims. (Cl. 15--327) This invention relates to canister type vacuum cleaners and more particularly to acombined hose connector and housing latch and one of the primary objects of the invention is to provide an improved device of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved means for latching together the top and bottom housings of a vacuum cleaner.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for connecting the end sleeve of a flexible hose to a vacuum cleaner.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

.FIG. 1 is an elevational side view, partly in sections of a canister type vacuum cleaner embodying the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective large scale view showving details of certain parts shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now in more detail to FIGS. 1 and 2 the invention has been disclosed as forming part of a canister type vacuum cleaner 16 which comprises a bottom housing 17 and a top housing 18. The ends 21 and 22 of the housings 17 and 18, respectively, are connected by a hinge 23 and the end 24 of the top housing 18 is releasably connected to the end 25 of the'bottom housing 17 by a latch 28 presently to be described, and the end 24 of the top housing 18 is formed with a circular hole 26. The

bottom housing 17 is equipped with casters 29 and wheels 31, a pick-up handle 32, and an exhaust port 33. The top housing 18 is provided with an air intake hose connector 34 presently to be described. The joint between the housings 17 and 18 is sealed by a plastic gasket 36 which also serves as a bumper. A motor-blower 37 of conventional form is mounted on the bottorn housing 17 and when the top housing 18 is latched to the bottom housing 17, the motor-blower 37 draws dirt laden air through the hose connector 34, through a dust separator 38 and expels the filtered air through the exhaust port 33. The dust separator 38, which may be conventional, is herein shown as comprising a preferably square, flat cardboard end plate or collar 41 formed with a central circular hole 42 having a rubber gasket 40 and a pervious bag 43 is secured, in a known manner, to the end plate 41.

The end plate or collar 41, and thus the bag 43, are held in place within the housing 17 and 18 by means of an L-shaped bag bracket 44 having a short leg 46 and a long leg 47. The short leg 46 is secured to the bottom housing 17 by a pair of rivets 48, which also secure the handle 32 to the housing 17. The bracket leg 47 has an oval aperture 49, two short hooks 51-51 and two long hooks 52-52. The hooks 51-51 define the bottom and the hooks 52-52 define opposite edges of a space adapted to receive the end plate 41. The hooks 51 and 52, which extend from the face of the leg 47 adjacent to the leg 46, position the end plate 41 so as to align the hole 42 with the aperture 49. A third hook or keeper 53 extends from the opposite face of the leg 47. The purpose of the keeper 53 will presently be described.

The combined hose connector 34 and the latch 28 comprises a bag seal 60, a cover latch or rotatable member '61, a latch ring 63 .and a sleeve 64. The cover latch member 61, comprises a ring having both a large diameter external cylindrical surface 66 and a smaller diameter external cylindrical surface 67, the two surfaces 66 and .67, which are concentric, being joined by an annular radially extending shoulder 68. The latch member 61 also has both a large diameter internal cylindrical surface 69 and a smaller diameter internal cylindrical surface 71. The surfaces 69 and 71, which are concentric, are so arranged that the surface 71 extends axially Within the surface 69 and the surfaces 69 and 71 are joined by means of an annular reentrant surface 72. The cover latch 61 also has opposite ends 76 and 77 and the latch member 61 adjacent to the end 77 is formed with a hook or bolt 78. The bolt 78 extends radially from the surface 66 and also in a direction concentric with the surface 66, and the end of the bolt 78 is tapered as at 79. The surface 67 has an annular indentation 81 and an axially extending protuberance 82, the protuberance 82 being semicircular in cross section.

The latch ring 63 has an external surface 83 from which protrude a pair of diametrically located corrugated handles 84-84 by use of which the ring 63 can be rotated. The inner surface 86 of the ring 63 is cylindrical and is formed with an inwardly directed end which functions as a keeper or catch flange 87, a radial cross section of which is substantially rectangular. The inner surface 86 is also formed at a location intermediate its ends with a protruding ring 88 a radial cross section of which issemicircular. The inner surface 86 is indented as at 89 with 'a radially extending semicircular groove.

The sleeve 64 is formed with both a large external diameter end 91 and a smaller external diameter end 92. The end 91 is internally threaded as at 93 (FIG. 1) to receive the external spiral corrugations of a hose 94, and the end 92 is of proper external diameter to easily pass through the aperture of the end flange 87, the surface 71, the bag seal 60, the aperture in the bracket 44 and to enter the opening 42 in the end plate 41. The different diameter external surfaces of the sleeve 64 are separated by a shoulder 96 and the sleeve 64 is formed with a longitudinally extending cavity 97, one end of which is beveled .as at 98, and protruding from the external surface of the bottom wall 99 of the cavity 97 is a lug 101.

The cavity 97 receives a plastic catch bar 102, one lugged end 103 of which is held in place in the cavity 97 by a rivet 104, and by reason of engagement of the end 103 with the bevel 98 and the lug 101.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the free or distal end of the catch bar 102 has an inclined end surface 105, the upper end of which leads into a transverse notch 106, the purpose of which will presently appear. The external cylindrical surface of the end 92 carries an annular flange 107, interrupted at 108 to allow for the cavity 97 and the catch bar 102. The terminal of the end 92 is beveled as at 109.

The bag seal 60 is in the form of an annular ring having an annular portion 110 of such size and shape as to be tightly received by the reentrant surface 72 of the latch member 61.

The hereinbefore described parts are assembled in the following manner. First the bag seal 60 is fitted into the cavity of the cover latch member '61 defined by the surfaces 69 and 72. Then the small end of the cover latch member 61, defined by the surface 67, is passed from the inside of the top housing 18 through the hole 26. Next, from outside of the housing 18, the interior surface 86 of the latch ring 63 is, by means of an adhesive, secured to the surface 67, the ring 88 entering the indentation 81 and the protuberance 82 entering the groove 89. The adhesive, the interlocking of the ring 88 with the indentation 81, and the interlocking of the protuberance 82 with the groove 89 insure that the member 61 and ring 63 are rotatable or turnable as a unit in the hole 26 of the top housing 18. The dust separator 38 is installed in the lower housing 17 by placing the bag 43 therein and by sliding the end plate or collar 41 into the space defined housing 18 is latched to the housing 17 by of the turning causes the bolt 78 to fully engage the .71

keeper 53 thus securing the housing 18 to the housing 17. Thereafter, the end 92 of the sleeve 64 is passed through the ring 63, the latch member 61, the bag seal 60, the aperture 49 and through the hole 42 with its gasket 40 until the flange the ring 63. As the end 92 enters the ring 63, the inclined end surface 105 of the catch bar 102 engages the flange 87 thereby depressing the catch bar 102. When the flange 107 engages the outer end of the ring 63, the catch bar 102 springs so as enter the cavity or notch 106. This holds the sleeve 64 in proper position. If it becomes desirable to empty the bag 43, the free end of the catch bar 102 is depressed until it disengages the flange 87. This permits withdrawal of the sleeve 64. Then the members 63, 61 and 60 are turned to disengage the bolt 78 from the keeper 53. This allows the top housing 18 to be turned on the hinges 23 until the cleaner is open to a position for easy re moval of the dust separator 38.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, I claim herein is:

1. In a canister type vacuum cleaner formed with a bottom housing and a top housing connectable to said bottom housing, a combined housing latch and hose connector comprising a bag bracket secured to said bottom housing, said bag bracket being apertured and formed with a keeper, a rotatable member carried by said top housing, a bolt carried by said rotatable member and adapted when said top housing is closed upon said bottom housing to engage said keeper to hold said housings to gether, a tubing sleeve insertable through said rotatable member, and a catch bar carried by said tubing sleeve and releasably engageable with said rotatable member for connecting said tubing sleeve to said rotatable member.

2. In a canister type vacuum cleaner, a combined housing latch and hose connector according to claim 1 wherein 107 engages the outer end of g to cause the flange 87 to what 4 V a said rotatable membercarries a bag seal for sealing the joint between said rotatable member to said bag bracket.

3. In a canister type vacuum cleaner, a combined housing latch and hose connector according to claim 1 wherein said rotatable member has secured thereto a latch n'ng formed with an end flange-which actsas a keeper for said catch bar.

4. In a canister type vacuum cleaner, :1 combined housing latch and hose connector according to claim 1 where in said tubing sleeve is formed with a cavity for accommodating said catch bar. v

5. In a canister typevacuum cleaner, a bottom housing; an apertured top housingconnectable to said bottom housing; an apertured bag bracket secured to said bottom housing; means carried by said bag bracket for connecting a dust bag thereto; a keeper formed as part of said bag bracket; an apertured cover latch member rotatably mounted in the aperture in said top housing;,an apertured bag seal carried by one end of; said latch member; a radially and circumterentially extending bolt formed as part of said latch member, said bolt being adapted to engage the keeper on said bag bracket when said;top

housing is closed on said bottom housing; an apertured latch ring secured to an end of said latch member; a handle member carried as a part of said latch ring; a

keeper flange formed as part of said latch ring; a hose 1 sleeve so constructed and arranged as to pass through the apertures in said latch ring said cover 'latchimemher, said bag seal, and said bag bracket; and a catch bar carried by said hose sleeve, said catch bar being formed 5 with a notch adapted to receive the catch flange on .said

latch ring and thereby hold said sleeve in position within 1 said latch ring and cover latch member.

6. In a canister type vacuum cleaner, a bottom housing, an ,apertured top housing connecta ble to said bottom housing, a bracket, for supporting a dust bag, secured to said bottom housing, a keeper formed as .part of said bracket, an annular, plastic latch member ;rotatably mounted in the aperture in said top housing, a bolt formed as part of said latch member and adapted, when said top housing is closed on said bottom housing, to

engage the keeper on said bag bracket and thereby latch said top housing to said bottom housing.

References Cited I;

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,918,693 12/1959 'Gasparini 15-327 XR 3,170,185 2/1965 Segesman' 1s 327 FOREIGN PATENTS 61,583 8/1948 Netherlands.

ROBERT w. MICHELL, Primary Examiner. 

6. IN A CANISTER TYPE VACUUM CLEANER, A BOTTOM HOUSING, AN APERTURED TOP HOUSING CONNECTABLE TO SAID BOTTOM HOUSING, A BRACKET, FOR SUPPORTING A DUST BAG, SECURED TO SAID BOTTOM HOUSING, A KEEPER FORMED AS PART OF SAID BRACKET, AN ANNULAR PLASTIC LATCH MEMBER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE APERTURE IN SAID TOP HOUSING, A BOLT FORMED AS PART OF SAID LATCH MEMBER AND ADAPTED, WHEN SAID TOP HOUSING IS CLOSED ON SAID BOTTOM HOUSING, TO ENGAGE THE KEEPER ON SAID BAG BRACKET AND THEREBY LATCH SAID TOP HOUSING TO SAID BOTTOM HOUSING. 